Safety first as Openreach scoops top awards

Openreach has been recognised for its commitment to safety at this year’s Global Fleet Champions Awards by landing the Large Fleet Company Driver Safety Award and Road Risk Manager of the Year Award.

The prestigious annual Global Fleet Champion Awards celebrate the achievements of organisations and individuals working across the world to reduce road collisions and prevent pollution caused by vehicles driven for work.

Overseen by academic and industry experts in occupational road risk, the awards are seen as the Oscars of best practice in safe and healthy mobility for fleets.

Welcoming the top awards Jon Furmston, Openreach Director for Assurance & Governance, said: “Safety is front and centre of absolutely everything we do at Openreach.

“Nothing is more important than working safely, so that everyone gets home safe every day. We strive to do everything we can to keep our drivers, other road users and members of the public safe when we’re out in our vehicles keeping the UK connected. It’s great for Openreach as a team to be recognised for this.”

Openreach continually reviews its driver training programmes to ensure that new initiatives and programmes are developed to support drivers and reduce road risk.

Over the last 18 months its driver training for new recruits has been completely revamped, and now includes educational sessions on the impact of fatigue, and the introduction of virtual reality simulators. Telematics have been rolled out to our commercial fleet and a speed awareness course has been developed to educate Openreach drivers on the dangers of speeding.

Road Risk Manager award winner Kieren Tickner, who’s been with Openreach for 16 years and joined the Road Risk team in 2019, said: “I am extremely proud to be awarded the Road Risk Manager of the Year award. However, it’s a team game and I am inspired and supported by amazing people at Openreach and our fantastic safety culture.

“We work tirelessly with supportive partners so that we are able to change behaviours, do something different and most importantly reduce potential harm.”

As the second largest fleet in the UK with more than 33,000 drivers and 30,000 commercial vehicles, Openreach drivers clock up 220 million miles a year on average.

Over the last 12 months Openreach’s 3000 new recruits have benefited from training which is a blend of classroom learning, Virtual Reality Simulators, vehicle safety checks, independent instructor led in-vehicle training and assessment – all before they get the keys to their Openreach van.